A classic pedal that never goes out of style and works in all genres is the Ibanez Tube Screamer. While it wasn’t always available from Ibanez, it has recently returned under the Ibanez brand name in a number of reissues.

What you might not know is that the original pedal was actually a rebranded Maxon OD808, which have always been available and still are. You can also get the Maxon OD808 for about $40 cheaper than a reissue Tube Screamer. Sound like a bargain? There’s more. The Maxon pedal features the original JRC4558 IC chip that is often sought after by vintage pedal gurus. In the past, you would have had to hunt for Tube Screamers on eBay and match up serial numbers to make sure you got one from the original line to get a pedal with one of these chips.

Check out the Maxon OD808 and decide for yourself.  (If you have to have a pedal with the Ibanez name on it, it’s available too.)

Here’s a neat trick for your band. Have you ever wanted to add a header graphic to your myspace? My band just recently had to do this, and we found out that it takes more time to find out how to do it than to actually do it. So my hope is that this post gets you past that hurdle.

1. First, log in to your myspace, go to the Profile menu and choose “Edit Profile.” Now click the edit link next to your Bio.

2. Insert this code either after or before any text you want to appear in your “About Me” section. This code will not show up there, but it will tell myspace how and where to insert the header graphic. Note that you want to set the margin-left property to -1/2 of what the width of your banner is. The width of the average myspace page is 800px, so your banner will be the same width and so you’ll want to set this property to -400px. If you had a 500px wide image though, you would set it to -250px.

<style>
div.topbanner {
top: 5;
left: 50%
margin-left: -400px;
width: 100%;
position: absolute;
}
body
{
margin-top: 425px;
}
</style>

Where it says “margin-top” you will want to adjust this number to match the height of your image. If you don’t know the height of your header, open it up in your graphic editor program and find out. You may have to add some additional spacing to make it work. For instance, our graphic was 400px tall but we had to make this number 425.

3. Now add this code elsewhere in the bio section:

<div class="topbanner">
<img src="url-to-your-image-here" />
</div>

For this step, you’re going to have to have your header graphic out on the web somewhere. If you don’t have your own web site to upload images to, then get a Photobucket or similar account and upload the header there, then copy the URL for the photo and paste it in where you see “url-to-your-image-here” in the above code.

4. Save it and View the result! Here’s what ours ends up looking like. If yours looks weird, double-check everything and adjust the numbers.

In a later blog post we’ll cover how to make a cool header graphic using Photoshop.

Saosin is streaming a track from their limited edition, tour EP at absolutepunk.net. The track is called, “Love Maker.” Hear it!

If you’re a drummer, you know how much more difficult it is to practice than a guitarist or bassist. They can just fire up a practice amp almost anywhere, but there is really no equivalent for a drummer.

Nevertheless, don’t underestimate the usefulness of a good practice pad! Building up muscle memory is a vital part of drumming and a practice pad will allow you to do that and it is portable.

Check out these examples or see a list of options.

Ahead Double Sided Mountable Practice Pad - This practice pad is mountable so you can put it on a cymbal stand if you want. Otherwise, just set it on a table and practice. Also, and probably most importantly, it has a snare-like side as well as a regular side for snare-like practicing.

Kaces Knee Practice Pad - The Kaces Knee Practice Pad is made for on-the-go practicing. You can use it on a table or you can strap it to your knee and practice. The drawback is that it is only 6″.

Sabian Quiet Tone Pack - If you want to splurge, go for this awesome package which includes the 14 inch Quiet Tone Drum, Mute/Practice Pad with Remo Ebony Head, 1 Pair Jojo Mayer Vic Firth Sticks and a good DVD, “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer.” The DVD will be great for all the punk, emo, and hardcore drummers out there.

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Practice is a series of blogs devoted to helping you get the most out of your practice times, either individually or as a band.

Are you recording soon? The Project Studio Handbook is a web site that has collected hundreds of recording-related articles together in one useful place and categorized them all. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced in the recording process, this site is a helpful point of reference and a great place to learn!

http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com

Have you guys seen this yet? Who doesn’t like Weezer? Weezer and fans broke the following world records while shooting this video:

• Longest Guitar Hero World Tour Marathon, which lasted for 10 hours, 12 minutes and 54 seconds
• Largest Air Guitar Ensemble, which consisted of 233 participants
• Largest Game of Dodgeball, which consisted of two teams numbering 50 people each who mercilessly hurled spheroids at each other
• Most People in a Custard Pie Fight, which included 120 individuals mercilessly hurling yellow matter at each other
• Most People Riding on a Skateboard, which packed 22 daring participants on to one ride

Thanks to Wired Listening Post for alerting me to this!

Your ears are the most important instrument you have. Before you go to practice and rawk, be smart about how to preserve your hearing. We encourage you to read the awesome Are You At Risk? article over at H.E.A.R’s website. Better safe than deaf!

One great thing the article notes is that conventional earplugs will cut highs but let too much bass through, making things sound muddy. The best solution is to get custom-molded earplugs. Many struggling musicians can’t afford the cost, though, and if that’s you, check out these great earplugs over at zZounds. Both of these earplugs will provide an even cut of sound over all frequencies, meaning you can practice safely while still hearing everything.

Hearos High Fidelity Ear Plugs

Vater Safe and Sound Ear Plugs

Practice is a series of blogs devoted to helping you get the most out of your practice times, either individually or as a band.

If you’re just starting out, want to get a better guitar than that hand-me-down JC Penney strat from your cousin, or you simply need a good stage-ready backup guitar, check out these sub-$300 guitars.

Squier Jagmaster

Squier’s “Jagmaster” is not a budget guitar, even though the price says otherwise. You have to check out the Harmony Central reviews, where you’ll find that many guitarists have found that this cross between a Fender Jazzmaster and Fender Jaguar is a huge bargain. I played one in a local music shop and nearly bought it as a backup guitar. The only thing that held me back was finances.

I would say the Jagmaster will work for any guitarist who plays punk, pop/punk or emo, but may not be ideal for harder forms of music like screamo, hardcore, or metal. Try it out for yourself and see. One other thing to note is that the Jagmaster might not be a fit for you if you have large hands, as it features a shorter neck than most guitars.

Ibanez RG321MH
Ibanez’ RG series is the go-to choice for a lot of guitarists wanting a more aggressive sound. Two of my favorite guitarists playing these guitars are Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise and Noodles of the Offspring. If you play hardcore, metal, or screamo, or you play punk or emo with a harder edge, this will be a great choice!

Epiphone G-400
My first guitar was an Epiphone SG Special, the $130 little brother to the G-400. If I would have known better and had the cash, though, I definitely would have went with the G-400. For anyone wanting the classic devilish looks of an SG, along with the classic tone that has been the choice of many emo and punk bands, from The Get-Up Kids to All Time Low, you can’t go wrong with choosing the G-400.

Ibanez ART100 Artist
No doubt if you are looking for a heavy sound you want a Les Paul-style guitar. My personal experience is that the Epiphone Les Paul in the sub-$300 price range is not as good of quality as some of the competitors’ Les Paul copies, and the ART100 is one of those. With features like a bound fretboard and decent stock pickups, I think this is a great choice if you’re in the market for a budget Les Paul.

ESP LTD EC100
The other Les Paul-style guitar you might want to consider is the EC100. LTD makes the EC1000 for around $859 that is an incredible competitor to the Gibson Les Pauls in the lower $1000 range, and the lead singer/guitarist in my band plays one of these guitars. The EC100 is the little brother and from reviews and general reputation, sounds like it lives up to the family name, so to speak. This may be a good option for a budget Paul.

Now that Fall is here, here are a couple tours you might be interested in checking out!

Hit the Lights with Motion City Soundtrack, Chiodos, and Person L

Anberlin with Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Straylight Run, and There for Tomorrow

Dashboard Confessional, Panic at the Disco, and Plain White T’s (Rock Band Live)